Native Char'ms, and Native Burial-grounds. 5 1 



tween the huts, the forest, and the luxuriant underwood, so 

 that free circulation of air was entirely prevented. In front of 

 the village a number of Bamboo poles, with large bunches of 

 ribbons waving about fi'om their upper end, were stuck into 

 the water, for the purpose of frightening away the evil spirit 

 or Eewee, and di^iving him into the sea ! In the interior of 

 these few huts built of stakes, and of much inferior construc- 

 tion to those in Kar-Nicobar, was a large number of rudely 

 cut figures of all possible sizes, and every variety of position, 

 suspended by strings, and supplying the most unmistakeable 

 evidence of the superstitions of the natives. We had never 

 seen these kinds of charms against the evil spii'it at Kar- 

 Nicobar, nor had even heard them spoken of. Quite close 

 to the huts was the place of interment. At one grave, appar- 

 ently quite lately used, a large pole was erected, which was 

 adorned with innumerable white and blue stripes waving in 

 the wind, and from which had also been suspended axes, 

 piles, bars, nails, and other tools and implements of labom' 

 of the deceased, so that the whole scene much more re- 

 sembled a rag-shop than a grave heap. 



From Itoe we proceeded to the peak of Monghata, on the 

 island of Kamorta, lying just opposite Nangkauri. It was 

 here that, in 1831, Pastor Rosen wished to found the pro- 

 jected settlement. He could hardly have selected a more 

 unsuitable site, since all around is either dense forest or 

 mangrove-swamp. The spots that had been cleared are now 



overgroAvn with Saccharum Konigii (Lalang grass), of the 



E 2 



